Very simply, any dog that has been to hell and back and
retained their zest for life and their ability to love unconditionally is a
Hero Dog. This title is not given lightly... Simply learning not to pee on
the carpet does not a Hero Dog make! Here are the stories of three Hero Dogs
that I've had the privilege to share my life with over the past few years.

Trey the Wonder-Dog
We met our Boxer Trey in the fall of 2008 when she was a sad, sick,
7-year-old ward of the Seattle Humane Society. She was epileptic, had a
urinary infection, and a golf-ball-sized lump hanging from her left
shoulder. No wonder the Humane Society gave us a steep discount on her
adoption fee.

Over the next several years Trey blew a tendon in her knee and needed a
Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO), she survived more than half a
dozen cancerous tumors, and had rather strange surgery on her back-end to
solve her urinary issues. Trey turned 12 this year and was diagnosed with
degenerative myelopathy. She finally told me she had had enough and left us
on November 1, 2013. But she was a sweet, kind, loving old Boxer right to
the end.

Why is Trey a Hero Dog?

She survived an extended stay at the Humane Society,
survived cancer repeatedly, and took great care of her little
sister Fiona.

Fiona joined us as an unexpected Christmas gift in 2010.
Her owners had brought her in to Bellevue Animal Hospital a few months prior to
have her put down because of her extreme food and environmental allergies. The
doctors all refused to hurt this beautiful soul, and so one of the staff members
fostered her until we took her home. Indeed Fiona's allergies were terrible, but
very strict control of her food and environment together with judicious advice
and medication from her vets made for easy management of the issue. Then
disaster struck.

In July of 2011 Fiona was diagnosed with Lymphoma, which
is virtually incurable in dogs. Since then Fiona has been through every
chemotherapy treatment available, and a few types of alternative medicine as
well. Unfortunately the battle was lost today (May 1st, 2012) but Fiona kept her sweet
temper and beautiful smile through it all.

Why is Fiona a Hero Dog?

Despite narrowly avoiding a death sentence and battling
incurable cancer for nearly a year she was still the
sweetest, kindest dog on earth. Except that she tended to bite lawyers and
bankers. You go, girl.

Lucy "Buzz"
Schnazo
Lucy spent the first eight years of her life with an elderly owner. When her
owner passed away the family tried to cope with caring for Lucy but
eventually surrendered her to the Seattle Humane Society. Then Lucy met her
Forever Owner, Teresa. Lucy quickly stole Teresa's heart with her sweet
disposition and playful energy, filling the gaping hole left by the untimely
loss of Teresa's previous pup, who had succumbed to cancer a few months
prior.

Teresa and Lucy joined our family last year, and Lucy now happily plays the
role of older sister to Trey the Wonder-Dog.
Trey is happy to have Lucy around, as her presence has helped fill the void
left by her little sister Fiona's
untimely passing.

Why is Lucy a Hero Dog?

Like Trey, Lucy survived a stay at the Humane Society and kept all
her sweetness and love of life. She has been a wonderful companion and
comfort to her friends (both two-legged and four-legged) who have
experienced the difficult loss of a furry family member.

Smokey spent most of his early years locked in a crate
with his brother Moulder. The story goes that Smokey and Moulder's owners
divorced and simply left them in the crate, in the house when they moved out,
whereupon they luckily were retrieved by a local rescue organization. Smokey was
then adopted by a good family, but had to be given up after a near-fatal
encounter with the family's cat.

He came to us by way of a wonderful foster mom that had
put a lot of work into resolving Smokey's anxiety issues. He's still a skittish
boy and agressive when he feels his territory is being violated, but he's
getting better every day. He does a wonderful job of guarding his family day and
night.

Why is Smokey a hero
dog?

Having spent years locked in a crate virtually 100% of
the time and having been abandoned in his home when his former owners moved out,
this sweet guy fully deserves the title of Hero Dog.